crouching down, yukhei gave the little boy a small smile while ruffling his hair. ❝chenle, don't go far, alright?❞

his mother's friend came to pay a visit from china and since the two ladies were planning on having a date of their own, together with his bestfriend's mother, yukhei was stuck with babysitting the mother's son. fortunately for them, it was his day off. he was supposedly going to spend this day with jungwoo. well, not like he still can't see him. the two of them still can hang out together but with the little boy tagging along with them.

it just so happens that jungwoo was taking his time in the world to prepare that yukhei had no choice but to bring the little boy to a playground to wait for his bestfriend in the meantime.

and not to mention that it's also the playground where he and jungwoo first met. that very day when yukhei saved him from the kids who dared mess with his sandcastle.

hugging the bucket filled with plastic garden tools, like shovel and also some cups, the little boy looked up at the older male. "ge, where are you going?"

the man then mentally face palmed, just remembering that the kids doesn't speak korean that well yet. what did he expect? he just arrived from china. "yukhei ge will just sit there, okay? i'll call you if we'll get going." he reassured him with a smile. "now, you go and play by that sandbox over there."

the little boy followed as to where the older man was pointing at and then nodded his head cutely, making yukhei coo from his place. he then ruffled the kid's hair one more time before watching him walking away to a sandbox that brought so many memories.

standing for a good minute, yukhei can only smile at how the memories are still fresh from his head. he couldn't help but laugh at how broken his korean was back then and how he probably scared the heck out of jungwoo when he declared that the two of them are friends.

❝i can't believe i pulled the mom card.❞ he shook his head with a giggle while making his way to the nearest bench where he could see the little boy playing alone but happily by the sandbox. ❝at least it worked.❞

his phone then vibrated inside his pocket and thinking that it was his married bestfriend, he quickly fumbled his hand to get the device out. receiving a message from him, the smile on yukhei's face turned to a bored frown as he saw jungwoo telling him that he fell asleep but he is now getting himself ready to go out.

but of course, he can't ever get mad at his bestfriend. yukhei then laughed it off before sending him a message telling jungwoo that they are just hanging out at the playground.

raising his head back up from looking down at his phone, yukhei's eyes then widened as he saw the little boy being gathered around by other kids that are an inch taller than him. ❝chenle!❞

he didn't waste any second to stand up and strode his way to the sandbox, but paused midway when he saw someone running towards chenle and blocking him from the kids' sight.

❝don't you have anything better to do!?❞

yukhei's eyes widened at the familiar words, being frozen there in his place as he watch the kids looking like they were about to beat up this person who came to save the little boy.

with eyes glaring at them, the taller boy still had no plans of chickening out even though he was up with two— three kids. ❝take a step closer and i will,❞

call mom, yukhei wanted him to say that for some reason.

❝call child protective services!❞ the tall boy threatened, making the kids in front of him take a step back in fear.

and also making yukhei gulp but had a good laugh the next second. ❝damn, this kid be smart.❞ he complimented, hoping that he wasn't heard by any of them.

as much as he wanted to join in and save the little boy which he was asked to babysit, watching this drama unfold also looks like a good idea.

the tall boy then motioned his feet to take a step forward and that made the kids in front of him flinch, looking scared. ❝well?❞

he raised a brow and the kids were pushing each other as to who would be bold enough to talk back. looking like none of them had plans to go against him, they hurriedly scurried out from his sight and that made the tall boy smile proudly after seeing them disappear.

clapping his hands, he turned around and offered help to the little boy that's seated down the sand. ❝are you okay?❞

the little boy did accept his hand which helped him to stand up but he didn't get to say a word. he understood some words he said but he couldn't say anything that would let the taller boy understand him.

puffing his cheeks, the boy made an attempt to be friendly. ❝my name, jisung.❞ he said, having his hands motioning to every directions in an awkward way. ❝you, who?❞

❝chenle.❞ yukhei spoke, getting their attention as he finally walked up to the little boy and dusted the sand that got in his shirt. ❝his name is chenle.❞

the tall boy, namely jisung, then blinked his eyes as he pointed a finger at the little boy that's snuggling close to the man's hand. ❝can he..❞

yukhei chuckled, nodding his head. ❝he can speak, he's just shy.❞ just like his bestfriend whom he had to make a dance number till he finally got to let him speak. ❝and he just came from china.❞

❝oh!❞ remembering that one chinese lesson he had himself put to, jisung clasped his hands together while moving closer to the shy little boy. ❝the jaw how!❞

yukhei didn't want to laugh, but he couldn't help it. even the little boy let out a chuckle and even if it didn't made jisung admire his adorable chuckle, the boy showed a pout at how the two were making fun of him.

❝should have went for knee how.❞ jisung said, crossing his arms.

shaking his head, yukhei brought his hand up and messed up the boy's hair. he earned a look coming from the taller boy but that didn't stop him from ruffling his hair. ❝it's okay, i was also like you when i was young.❞

chenle saw how the man's hand messed the boy's hair and also made him want to do it. not thinking about anything and followed what he wanted, the little boy brought his small hands up and neared to the tall boy just to also ruffle his hair. he had soft hair and he wanted to mess with it the whole day.

seeing the little boy's action then made jisung have his cheeks heat up, it was so adorable. ❝h-hyung, can i play with him?❞

a smile went to form in yukhei's lips as he saw how the little boy easily got close to jisung to the point that he's not stopping playing with his hair. he then nodded his head, finding no problem if he let chenle play with him. it also looked like it'll take a while till jungwoo arrives. ❝sure.❞

looking down at the amused little boy, ❝i can help you build your sand castle again!❞ he told him. seeing how chenle's eyes sparkled then made jisung feel accomplished to have said that.

❝hey,❞ by now, he should be leaving the two of them but something popped inside the man's head that made him think that he should say it. ❝jisung, right?❞

having his name pronounced correctly had made the tall boy nod his head cutely while still letting the little boy play with his hair.

something really is going to bloom between this two, making yukhei smile at the thought. ❝trust your guts. also, don't ever waste your chances. you have it, seize the opportunity.❞

jisung then tilted his head to the side, ❝hm?❞ not understanding him.

yukhei laughed as he stood up, eyeing the two of them from below. ❝just, don't doubt yourself.❞

that was the last thing yukhei had said before he walked away and went back to the nearest bench he saw. sitting down, he had his eyes on the two kids that are playing, being reminded of how much fun he had when he was playing with jungwoo way back. the way how the two laughed at simple things and how they were so innocent back then.

back when he had no idea the deeper meaning of love.

❝no reason to stay,❞ a voice from beside him was then heard, making yukhei flinch. ❝is a good reason to go.❞

was that a quote? a song he had no idea what? with furrowed brows, yukhei was puzzled as to why the person beside him suddenly said that. ❝who hurt your cereal—❞ but as he turned to see who it was, his eyes widened. ❝you're that guy who bumped me during the wedding!❞

the male sitting right next to yukhei by the bench then snapped his head to the side to see who it was, only to cover his mouth. ❝oh my— i'm sorry!❞

the taller male then assured him that it was fine and stopped him from taking countless of apologetic bows. ❝it's okay.❞

sitting back down, the two of them then had an awkward silence between them. with the shorter male having his eyes wandering his eyes everywhere and feeling his cheeks heating up and yukhei glancing at the kids who were enjoying the time of their life playing.

not being able to bear the silence, the man broke the ice between them. ❝why did you cry?❞

it might probably not the perfect question to ask considering that they had just met, making yukhei panic from his place.

that question made the person remember what had truly happened during that day, making him frown. ❝i received a message,❞ he pressed his lips into a thin line as he didn't know if he should continue his sentence. yukhei waited patiently and didn't pressure him to continue if he didn't want to. after a good minute, the person finally finished his sentence. ❝about my bestfriend proposing to his boyfriend.❞

that hit a spot, making yukhei lower his head with a bitter smile. ❝that must have hurt.❞

❝a lot.❞ he didn't even bother lying after finding no point in doing so. ❝but i guess..❞

❝some things are just not meant to be.❞ yukhei continued his sentence as he heard him trail off.

raising his head up to face him, he saw the smaller male staring out of space but with a smile on his face. he coule feel his pain but he learned to let go of it already, who knows what this person could be feeling right now?

yukhei was about to change the subject on their conversation to brighten up the mood but he then heard the ringtone coming from his phone. checking it, he missed a call from jungwoo and also had a message coming from the older male. he checked what it was about and told him that the older was already right around the corner.

putting his phone back inside his pocket, ❝it might hurt now but you'll learn to accept it, it'll just take time.❞ he said while standing up.

that made the person smile genuinely, lifting the burden from his chest because of it. ❝you're right.❞

he knew he just met him today, or during that wedding where they bumped, but yukhei found him cute. not just his height, but also the way he smiles. he also noticed how his eyes would sparkle even though it showed sadness. shaking his thoughts, he reminded himself that he needed to get chenle because jungwoo was near. ❝i'll get going then. i hope you'll feel better soon.❞

❝thank you.❞ he said, looking up to yukhei and made the taller male get flustered at how his smile was lighting up the world.

coughing to snap his self out from his thoughts, yukhei turned his back to him and started to walk towards the kids. ❝chen—❞

but he paused midway as something inside him clicked.

it was the realization of seizing the moment and not wasting any opportunities. having everything slow down, he turned around and saw that the person was starting to leave. he shouldn't let him go away. he felt the need to help him and that's what he's going to do.

❝wait!❞

the person paused from his tracks upon hearing a shout from behind, turning his head around only to see the man running towards him. tilting his head to the side, he mustered up a smile to look like he was at least okay. ❝yeah?❞

❝i-i'm.. yukhei..❞ he introduced himself, stopping in front of the shorter male with his hands on his knees and panted for air. ❝may i a-ask for your name?❞

he waited till yukhei would be able to catch his breath, standing there with an adorable smile and sunlight shining down on him. standing up properly, seeing him this close with a perfect angle made the man space out for a second, just simply admiring how beautiful he is.

well, he got back to his senses as he finally heard the person speak.

❝renjun, huang renjun.❞

⚊ t h a n k  y o u ⚊

i don't know if i did okay with this book but i hope you guys enjoyed reading this short story of mine. also, asdjks don't get too sad because luwoo didn't end up together. that only means there's another luwoo book— maybe?